The medieval town of San Gimignano is a kind of place that you can fall in love with at first sight. It is not of the same grand sophistication as Florence, the city of culture. Yet San Gimignano has a long history of its own. As a UNESCO heritage known as the “city of towers,” San Gimignano is a lot more idyllic and rustic. It shows the glory of its days in a down-to-earth wholesomeness. For the colors of San Gimignano are much more earthy than that of Florence, Lucca or Siena. Its buildings are relatively plain as compared to the elaborate architecture in Florence and Siena, but nonetheless stately in their stature.

The ancient town glimmers under the Tuscan sun. We came upon the view of the Tuscan fields afar. It reminds me of the many intangible treasures that makes Italy’s world-famous heritage. Indeed, San Gimignano is known for its Vernaccia grapes. And these grapes make great white wine.

At the Piazza della Cisterna we came across the old well that used to be the main source of fresh water for the ancient town. The well is dated to the year 1346. However, much of the restoration took place during the 20^th century.

It was clear that the Piazza della Cisterna was the very center of communal life for San Gimignano. Pedestrians, musicians, pets, tourists, businesses all gravitated toward it. It was in this square that we felt the spirit of San Gimignano, a cheerful buzz matching the vibe of a perfectly sunny afternoon. The Piazza radiated charm upon the uniformly archaic character of the town.

In most other parts of the town, however, the streets were quiet. Anyone could feel the ease in a leisurely, solitary walk. This encouraged a measured appreciation of the town’s beauty. Known for its medieval towers, San Gimignano’s beauty was, first and foremost, seen as one looked up to marvel at the town’s Romanesque and gothic architecture.

Yet the common beauty that meets the eyes was in fact what stayed in my mind years after.  It could be a simple pot of flowers adorning the ground or the windowsill. It could be the careful arrangement of the products by vendors, who may not care so much about earning the tourists’ money as their wish to showcase the best products of their time and their place. At some unknown residence there was a line of white shirts hanging, to us a sign of privilege—how wonderful it must have been to be a native of San Gimignano.

Even the wild flowers on the sloped edges of the city wall pleased us. I caught sight of a common bird fluttering its feathers. All commonalities seem to become memorable by merely existing in this wonderful Tuscan town.

Source

The Wikipedia on San Gimignano.

One must buy leather shoes in Italy, the boot-shaped country. And we did so in Lucca.

And in Lucca, everybody biked.

On our way to Pisa, we met some American tourists on the train. They suggested that we visit Lucca, so we bought the train tickets at Pisa Centrale. After visiting the Pisa Tower, we spent some time locating the very obscure sub train station, found it, and made it on the train to Lucca.

A Very Brief History of Lucca

The City of Lucca is known to the Italians as an “arts town.” Its renaissance era city wall remains intact to this day and we had a pretty good walk on it after arriving. Some composers and artists were born in Lucca, including composers Giacomo Puccini (La Bohème and Madama Butterfly), Nicolao Dorati, Francesco Geminiani, Gioseffo Guami, Luigi Boccherini, and Alfredo Catalani. It is also the birthplace of artist Benedetto Brandimarte. (Wikipedia).

During the medieval times, Lucca was the capital of a duchy, known as Ducato di Tuscia, which included a large part of today’s Tuscany and the province of Viterbo, during this time the city also minted its own coins (Wikipedia).

From the 12^th to the 19^th century, Lucca constituted itself an independent commune with a charter in 1160. For almost 500 years, Lucca remained an independent republic. Lucca had been the second largest Italian city state (after Venice) with a republican constitution (“comune”) to remain independent over the centuries (Wikipedia).

Impressions of Lucca

When we walked around in Lucca, we noticed something about the cities of Tuscany. Although there are similarities throughout in their structures, each city bears its own stamp of uniqueness. The vibes are different and that made each of them very interesting for the tourist.

As compared to its ancient rivals Pisa and Florence, Lucca is quite a bit smaller. Its appearance is more uniform throughout, as expressed in the dark maroon colors of its buildings. Unlike in both Pisa and Florence, where very exceptional architecture would seize one’s attention, in Lucca it was up to the tourist to walk through the center of the town and take in the sights and sounds of its provincial character. In this process, one opens up to a continuous antiquity that is tamed but also assured. There is no question of its beauty, which enables a sort of slow-motion dialogue as you walk pass the local residents that enjoy their lives there, minding their own business in the most relaxed fashion.

Most importantly, we had a breather from the many, many tourists (of course, ourselves included) in the other popular cities in Tuscany.

And Of Course, The Shoes!

We saw those shoes at a family-run shop, and both of us could not resist their beauty. The wonder of Italian shoes is felt the minute you put your feet down. Every curve in the shoe serves to give comfort and support at the same time. The craftsmanship is clearly superior to the factory-churned shoes to which we are accustomed. We each bought a pair. Mine were in peachy-pink leather, with inch-high heels.

After having our late afternoon coffee, we headed back to Florence for our celebration dinner. It was a high time in our young lives then, and we were in Italy.

Source

The history of Lucca in this entry came from the Wikipedia on Lucca.